The present invention relates to an article of footwear, and in particular to an article of footwear with a customizable upper.
Articles with inserts have been previously proposed. Vates (U.S. patent publication number 2006/0277785) teaches a shoe having vamp openings and body and tongue chimney structures that may be removable from a shoe. The shoe includes an upper partially comprised of a material that has openings. The material covers body chimney structure, which is located within the shoe and visible through openings. The chimney structures can be removably inserted into the footwear.
Scerri (UK patent application GB2172191) teaches a shoe having a sole and a vamp. The vamp comprises a flexible inner vamp member and a transparent flexible outer vamp member. The outer vamp member is coupled to the inner vamp member so as to form a vamp envelope for removably receiving a thin flexible vamp insert.
The related art lacks provisions for coupling an insert with a portion of an upper. There is a need in the art for a design that overcomes these shortcomings.